With just one simple phone call—life as you have known it comes crashing down. Coping with the news of losing a child or a loved one to illness, an accident, suicide, abuse, or—God forbid—a murder is extremely shocking to the heart. This shock, followed by the pain of intense grief and suffering, are difficult to manage as the heart struggles to deal with the extreme pain. This pain is indescribable and deep within

This intense grief is the cost of loving someone. Grief is not an enemy or a sign of weakness. It is a sign of being human and loving another. Grief eventually comes to everyone in life, so why do some people seem to work through it better than others?

Depending on the circumstances, there is no easy answer, as everyone grieves differently. There is no right or wrong way to grieve. You have just lost someone dear to your heart. Losing a young child is particularly painful in so many different ways.

How does one deal with this all-consuming pain? Unfortunately, some will turn to alcohol or drugs to block out the unbearable pain. Others will make themselves sick with disease, unable to handle the stress. It can feel like a knife has been stabbed into your heart and you are watching yourself slowly die. You may ask, “Has God forgotten about us?” “Why is this happening, God?” Right now, it may feel like the pain may never go away; you are hurting. But there is hope and another way of surviving and living through such grief.

The book, “Forgiving the Killer while grieving Uriah” is based on the true story of Johnny and Debbie McDaniel and their eight-year struggle through pain, anger, and resentment, after they lost their only son, Uriah, to a senseless murder. How does life go on when you struggle through the heartbreak of losing a son and at the same time, want revenge on the killer? The emotions are high! The emotions can seem out of control!

Through the McDaniel story, you will journey through their story of suffering, restoration, salvation, and forgiveness at the highest level. Yes—forgiveness for the murderer of their son. Only through Jesus’ love did they learn how to love, offer forgiveness, and live and laugh again. Was it easy? Absolutely not! But it was well worth the journey to have a heart of peace once again. When you first see the word forgiveness, you may think of the time when your husband forgot your birthday; or how a trusted friend didn’t pay you back for the money you loaned her; or perhaps how someone told a lie about you. You may harbor deep anger or resentment for an ex-wife who divorced you; or an ex-husband who betrayed and cheated on you; or possibly parents who hurt you by physically, mentally, or sexually abusing you.

There are hundreds upon hundreds of reasons why people refuse to forgive someone for something that hurt them. All these reasons and more are hurtful events that changed your life, and each represents a significant betrayal. The thought of offering “forgiveness” is a loaded word for most people who are still wrestling and hanging on to all the emotional wounds. Each of us needs to forgive someone. How do we reach deep inside and learn to forgive those who have hurt us?

We read in Scripture, “If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins” (Matthew 6:14–15).

When the unthinkable happened to Johnny and Debbie, their hearts were not only shattered, but they also had to cope with the emptiness, anger, and rage of knowing that the killer, during a two-minute period of uncontrolled anger, chose to take a knife and end their son’s life.

This murderous act is beyond the ability to reason, so grossly unfair, so underhanded, and deceitfully wrong. The rage boils, the heart breaks, as they desperately search for some sort of uncanny justice that could level the playing field for their loss.

This book is designed to help you release the dark pain of where you are today and slowly bring you back to the land of the living, where you can find peace and acceptance and start living again. The McDaniel family sincerely thanks God for the words, strength, and comfort He offered as they recounted and relived this horrible time in their lives. Through it all, and only with God’s help, can they now live a meaningful and peaceful life. If it helps one person or one family with their personal struggle of loss, then all of this was worth it. Our sincere hope is that you and your family will find some level of peace with your loss and come to a place of complete forgiveness for the person or incident that changed your life forever. Forgiveness “frees” the prisoner within you. May God bless you!